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2/4/10

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the atheists, secular humanists, agnostics and other skeptics out there in our country who continue to help others for the greater good.

We may have all sorts of other affiliations, personal perspectives and lifestyles but it was really good to see us all come together again in a time of need.

Of course, we all fully recognize that many theists of all sects and denominations participate in caring for the human family as well, but it is far too often asserted that religious ideologies hold the monopoly on empathy, reciprocity, ethics and moral standards.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth and just this one particular secular outreach is approaching the $100,000 in donations mark:

January 15, 2010, Amherst, New York—In response to Haitian residents’ emergency needs following the Jan. 12 earthquake, the Center for Inquiry’s Skeptics and Humanist Aid and Relief Effort (S.H.A.R.E.) has raised $47,000 in less than 24 hours. Those who live without God or religion, along with faith groups, recognize the need to assist the stricken nation’s survivors and have answered the call.

All donations to S.H.A.R.E.—100 percent with no operating costs retained—will be sent directly to the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities and is working against difficulties to provide the basics of first-aid care and stabilization.

“Good, nonreligious people want to help, but are often reluctant to give when they know their donations may be diverted from real aid to sectarian causes,” said Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry. “S.H.A.R.E. provides an assured opportunity for people to directly help those in need—and to show they care—without a needless entanglement in religion.”

One of the appealing aspects of SHARE is that all donations—100 percent with no operating costs retained—are sent directly to secular aid groups who are actively helping in the affected area. In this case, donations benefit the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities.

Just to put it in local perspective, this very same effort generated about $80,000 for our gulf coast community in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, so it is a very practical and worthwhile effort that is much appreciated by real people in the midst of despair.